Judas settled for thirty pieces of silver; was the life of Jesus worth only this much?

From the Gospel, we learn that Judas was quite good with financial analysis. He was quick to evaluate the nard perfume, which was poured on Jesus’ feet by Mary, at three hundred pieces of silver. So, why was Judas offering Christ at a discounted rate? Should Judas have negotiated for more payment?

Though interesting, that is the wrong question. A more appropriate question would be: Judas valued Jesus at thirty pieces of silver; how about you?

Is Jesus calling on you today to place value on people, on friends and family? If He is, you should probably listen. He knows a thing or two about human valuation … He gave His life for you.

Good Shepherd, challenge me today to see humans the way You do, to value life, relationships, and the community I share at the Mount. Today, let me stop counting the cost and start counting the blessing. Amen.

How beautiful is the reality of the truth we hear in the first reading today? Before you were born, the Lord knew you and called you to be a faithful servant. Not only did the Lord fashion us, but He “shielded us by His hand” (Isaiah 49:2). The Lord cares deeply about His people, who were fashioned from His very heart in His image and sent to earth as His servants. In the work of His great mission, we are called to be a “light to the nations” (Isaiah 49:6). In this mission, the Lord does not leave us. He gives strength to His children (Isaiah 49:5) and never abandons us. He did not even spare His only Son for us. Jesus, too, came to Earth as God’s servant. Through Jesus, the triune God is able to sympathize with our suffering and our triumphs. In the Gospel today, we hear that the fully human Jesus “was deeply troubled” (John 14:21) as He approached His betrayal and death on the cross. Despite His suffering to save us, Jesus’ disciples did not understand the mission or actions of Jesus, as we hear repeatedly in the Gospel (John 14:22, 24, 28). Though the purpose of Jesus’ mission seems obvious to us, the disciples did not understand what was going on in the moment. Even when we do not understand what God is asking us to do or why some things happen during our life on Earth, we will always have God as our “rock of refuge” (Psalm 71:3). From before the first moment of our earthly existence, the Lord has been our strength (Psalm 71:6). Though we may not always feel God’s presence or understand His work, He will never leave us alone.

Lord, help us to turn to You, our source of strength. Deliver us from our misunderstanding and teach us to be faithful servant in our time here on Earth. Amen.

“Wait for the Lord, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!” -Psalm 27:14

It can be hard to see God as a loving Father when He doesn't seem to be answering your prayers, and you feel as if He is nowhere to be found. Did He hear me? Why don't I feel anything when I pray? God, why would You let this happen? Why won’t You just tell me what You want me to do?

To those who are experiencing this spiritual dryness, or whose hearts are hurting while waiting for God to make His will known to them: you are not alone, and God allowed you to feel this way for a reason. Why? When you can no longer rely on your understanding and recognize that God is all you have left, you are allowing yourself to fall into the arms of Jesus, fully dependent on Him. If God is all you have, you have all that you need. The Footprints in the Sand poem perfectly demonstrates this: our faith journey is a constant walk with Jesus. When the second pair of footprints disappears, it’s not because He has deserted, or left you. He is carrying you.

During times filled with desolations and waiting, I have found great comfort in the song While I’m Waiting by John Waller. A few of his lyrics read:

I’m waiting on You, Lord.

Though it is painful, patiently I will wait.

While I’m waiting, I will serve You.

While I’m waiting, I will worship.

Let this be your prayer. Don’t stop giving of yourself, don't stop showing up to Mass, do not stop clinging to Jesus with every bit of strength you have left. Even if you feel like you’re just going through the motions, do it anyway. It is when we are suffering that we are closest to Christ. Unite your pain to the cross; He died for you.

Lord, help me to rely on You fully. Help me to trust You. Help me to understand how much You love me. Help me to know that Your plan is perfect, and so is Your timing. Amen.

The readings for Passion (Palm) Sunday are inexhaustibly rich, containing the most vital episode of the story of our Redemption: the loving, sacrificial death of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ’s death was allowed to happen by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, and Pilate’s words are particularly worthy of consideration. Pilate clearly knows that Jesus Christ is innocent, both through his own reasoning (Matt 27:18) and through the prophetic dream of his wife (Matt 27:19). Yet even with this knowledge, Pilate literally washes his hands of the whole affair, claiming to be innocent of the Blood of Jesus.

How easy it is for us to take this stance: We are not a part of the evil and injustice that surrounds us. We surely are not guilty of the Blood of Jesus. Our Catholic faith, however, teaches us in certain terms that we are all guilty. We cannot blame the Romans or the leaders of the Jewish people or any other people for the death of Jesus: We are to blame. For a believing Christian, part of Nietzsche’s nihilistic proclamation is actually true: God is dead, and we have killed Him (The Gay Science, sec. 125).

But God, in His superabundant love and mercy, is not content to remain dead. As we shall soon experience in the Easter Liturgy, God has raised Himself, and has given Himself the name which is above every other name (Phil. 2:9). If we die with the Lord, if we recognize our own role in His death (both the death He died once and the deaths He experiences daily in human suffering), if we repent of our sins and turn to Him, then we shall rise with Him, through suffering into glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your suffering and death to redeem me and all of the world. Help me to recognize my own sins, to turn from them, and to participate in Your saving love by loving You and my neighbor, from this day until the days of my own death and resurrection. Amen.

Lent is coming to a close and Easter is just around the corner. The first reading today gives us a renewed hope in the words “… that they may be my people and I may be their God.” On this day we should have a renewed vigor in our Lenten practices to better anticipate Christ’s Resurrection.

But what does that look like today? Have we not already have been making our Lenten sacrifices for nearly forty days? As Lent moves along we can tend to forget why we are making the sacrifices in the first place. What then is purpose of our Lenten sacrifice? As it says in the first reading (Ez. 37:21-28) “No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God.” When we allow the idols of the world crowd our hearts, being overly distracted by technology, other people’s opinions of us, even people pleasing, we begin to make less room in our hearts for the love of Christ.

The renewed vigor of our Lenten sacrifices is a reminder of how we are to cast away these idols of the world in order to make space in our hearts for God to dwell forever.

Lord Jesus Christ give me the strength and courage to continue to follow you. As I look to the day of your Resurrection help me in these coming days to prepare my heart, mind, and soul for you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Lord Jesus Christ give me the strength and courage to continue to follow you. As I look to the day of your Resurrection help me in these coming days to prepare my heart, mind, and soul for you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

“It will be okay, don’t worry.” How many times have we heard this? How many times do we use this phrase to comfort someone we love? I believe we say it often because, in today’s world, we like to hide our sufferings, dismissing them as if they don’t matter. We don’t want others to know our wounds and, instead of talking about them, we cover them up. However, God gives us trials for a reason. They draw us closer to Him and help us bring others closer to God by sharing our trails with others. When we are going through difficult times, God calls us to rely on His strength and grace to assist us. Once the trial is over, we can look back and reflect, “God got me through that difficult time.”

My Mom is an amazing woman. She lost my younger sister to cancer about ten years ago and, just a week ago, she lost my Dad to cancer. Her faith in God has never faltered through it all. She has continuously placed her trust in God and accepted His will for her life, no matter how hard and difficult the situation. My Mom has taught me, and everyone that she meets, the importance of having complete trust in God’s will. She is not afraid to talk about her sufferings with others because they have helped my mother become the woman that she is today.

Lean on Jesus during hard times. He will help us carry our cross and follow in His footsteps until we reach the eternal glory of heaven. Hold onto Him, for He is our rock, our foundation, our stronghold, and our salvation!

Jesus, help me bear my sorrows for love of You, trusting that You are with me. I know that You will always be at my side, giving me the strength I need to carry my cross. Amen.

One song that touches my heart in a powerful way is “The One I Love,” by Third Day. As Peter is walking on the waves and begins to sink, Jesus speaks to Him with the powerful lyrics, “Oh, you of little faith, why do you let the wind and the waves distract you? Oh, you of little faith, how quickly and often you have forgotten!” This last line really convicted my heart one day in prayer as I realized I so often forget how God has gotten me to where I am and will not let me sink. How often I fail to trust God and, instead, try to take my life into my own hands out of pride! As I broke down in the chapel listening to these words, I prayed that I would have the courage to respond to this incredible, unfathomable, faithful love.

So, how to respond? Today, the Lord shows us a few different ways. In the Old Testament, Abraham is overwhelmed and humbled by the fulfillment of a promise. In the Gospel, Jesus offers the Pharisees, once again, the opportunity to believe in Him, citing the story of their father Abraham, and is met with harsh words and threats. In the Psalm, He says that we have to relentlessly seek Him and remember the wonderful works He has done in our lives. This could be anything from a powerful encounter in Confession or Adoration, to a conversation with a friend or an answer to prayer.

When we remember these things, instead of casting stones born of pride, like the Pharisees, we will respond to His faithfulness as we should; overwhelmed, face down on the ground, like Abraham.

Lord, help me remember Your faithfulness. You never fail, but my heart does. You never forget about me, but I forget about You. You reach for me. Let me long to reach back for Your outstretched hand with complete trust, knowing that You will be faithful and always fulfill Your promises. Amen.

“If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” -John 8: 31, 32

In the first reading of Daniel, we learn of three brothers who are tossed into a burning fire by a powerful king for refusing to worship a golden statue. “How strong is my faith?” I ask myself this question as I ponder through the story. In an age of Christian persecution, the international media brings news of priests, nuns, and missionaries who are being killed for their FAITH! The King is amazed at the end of the reading of Daniel when he sees an angel delivering the three brothers to their God, OUR God. How strong is YOUR faith? Take time today to ask yourself that question. During my college years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I was very involved in service learning and missionary work. I was blessed just like you are here at the Mount with opportunities to affirm my faith and share it with the most vulnerable. There were many times when I was walking amidst the streets of the poor barrios where children lived on the streets and parents engaged in delinquent activities that I fear for my life, but I carried a wooden cross around my neck and I firmly believed God was with me. I beg you, take the opportunities the Mount gives you through your professors, Campus Ministry, and service trips to grow in your faith so when you are challenged, and you will be, you can be like the three brothers. Count on the Mount to strengthen your faith. My husband and I have loved teaching here since 2008. We truly believe your Mount education strives to shed light on these verses of the Gospel of John: “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” -John 8: 31, 32.

Dear God, You who sent an angel to deliver the three brothers, make me stronger in my faith during my time at The Mount.“Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.” (Dn 3: 56) Amen.

“Why have You brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water?” -Numbers 21:5

Holiness is hard. Sinful habits die slow deaths. It sometimes feels like God has played a trick on us. In a moment of weakness, we sought His help, and now we find ourselves wandering in a desert of penance and self-denial. We’re tempted to grumble against God and, like the Israelites, to cast a longing glance back toward Egypt.

But how could we forget about the time the Lord heard our cry? We were enslaved to sin. We were in misery. Yet the Lord took pity on us, even though we had no one but ourselves to blame. He heard our groaning and set us free. He did not hide His face.

God will not abandon those whom He has called. The Promised Land is on the horizon, but our eyes are too weak to see. If we could only comprehend what the Lord has in store for us, our hearts would burst with joy. We belong to Christ. This is the meaning of our lives. Once we start to live this truth, the purpose of our pain becomes clear: God is preparing us for glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, son of Mary, help me to view my struggles, not as opportunities to complain, but as opportunities to show my love for You. Amen.

“Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.” -John 8:5-6

As Catholics, we are called to forgive and be forgiven. Through forgiveness, we are shown mercy because the Father is merciful. When the Pharisees and the Scribes went to see Jesus with the adulterous woman, they were testing Him. Jesus Christ was not bothered by their question because He knew that they were looking for Him to mess up in His teaching. The Pharisees and Scribes went on and on about how the woman had sinned and how the community should follow Moses' law and stone her. Jesus answered after writing something in the sand, instructing those who have not sinned to throw the first stone. Realizing that they all had sinned in their lives, the Pharisees and Scribes decided not stone her. Through His mercy and compassion, Jesus tells the woman to go and sin no more.

What a powerful message of forgiveness! Throughout Scripture, Christ shows both compassion and forgiveness. When reflecting upon the Gospel, I always wonder what it would have been like to have been there. Wondering, what was Jesus writing in the sand? Could it have been instruction, a picture, or was He just trying to pass the time? We should all follow Christ's words and go and sin no more because Jesus Christ did not suffer and die for us in order to condemn us as the Pharisees wanted Him to do, but to be forgiven. Indira Gandhi once said that "forgiveness is the virtue of the brave." Jesus Christ calls us to be brave this Lenten season and to remember that we are to seek forgiveness and to forgive others. We stand in need for forgiveness, and can receive this through the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Lord give me the serenity to accept Your unconditional forgiveness and love. Allow meto grow in holiness and to have the grace to forgive all just as You forgive. Amen.